Thursday, December 20, 2012

Last week my colleagues and I had visited the local Salvation Army as volunteers. The poem below is written for that occasion. If you would like to donate, check the following site: http://www.salvationarmy.ca/tag/donations/

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Rest in peace Pandit Ravi Shankar. His death today is a great loss for the music lovers in all over the world.

The following is the lyric of one of this prominent music: Mangalam

Bhoomimangalam. Udakamangalam.

Agnimangalam. Vaayumangalam.

Gaganamangalam. Sooryamangalam.

Chandramangalam. Jagat Mangalam.

Jeevamangalam. Dehamangalam.

Manomangalam. Aatmamangalam.

Sarvamangalam Bhavatu Bhavatu Bhavatu.

Sarvamangalam Bhavatu Bhavatu Bhavatu.

Sarvamangalam Bhavatu Bhavatu Bhavatu.

"Prabhujee" is another great song by Ravi Shankar in collaboration with the great George Harrison. Both of these great musicians, artists with spiritual depth no longer are alive, but their transcending music live on.

English translation of the song Prabhujee is:

Oh Master, show some compassion on me,

Please come and dwell in my heart.

Because without you, it is painfully lonely,

Fill this empty pot with the nectar of love.

I do not know any Tantra, Mantra or ritualistic

worship i know and believe only in you.

I have been searching for you all over all the world,

please come and hold my hand now.

The original lyric:

Prabhujee dayaa karo

Maname aana baso.

Tuma bina laage soonaa

Khaali ghatame prema bharo.

Tantra mantra poojaa nahi jaanu

Mai to kevala tumako hi maanu.

Sare jaga me dhundaa tumako

Aba to aakara baahan dharo

The above video clip is from Concert for Bangladesh held in August 1, 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York. This concert was arranged by Pandit Ravi Shankar and George Harrison for raising international awareness on 1971 war's atrocity in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). In this video the musicians were: Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Allah Rakha.

Ravi Shankar's two daughters are accomplished artists themselves. The following video shows two sisters in a musical collaboration: Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar.

Here is a video clip from two years ago where Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar are performing together.

The following is a music video showing collaboration between two maestro of 20th century: Ravi Shankar and Phillip Glass:

Yehudi Menuhin is considered one of the greatest violinists of 20th century. Here is a music video where three maestros were in collaborations: Ravi Shankar in sitar, Yehudi Menuhin in violin and Allah Rakha in tabla.

Another great music by Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin:

This is a spiritual song by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison: Asato Maa

Song lyric of Asato Maa:

asato ma sadgamaya

tamaso ma jyotirgamaya

mrtyorma amrtam gamaya

Lead me from the asat to the sat.

Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality.

Sat has a combination of meanings: existence, reality and truth.

Asat has a combination of meaning: Non-existence, non-reality and un-truth.

Monday, December 10, 2012

In the never ending list of murders, extortion, heart wrenching fires and all kind of criminal fiesta, the death of a simple businessman named Bishwajit Das in public view perhaps will be disappeared from newspapers' front pages in a few days. A new sensational news will replace the "old" news, with new blood spill, or the victory lap of the tigers and the wolves, the real ones, not the stuffed tigers or the wolves, but the ones hiding behind the gentle political smile will shed their deceitful skin and will reveal their true monstrous selves!

A video clip of this murder (Please don't see this if you are faint hearted)

Perhaps this time the people who have witnessed this merciless killing from near and far will not let their anger die down. Maybe this time around the people will not be distracted by empty political slogans. The murderers' backgrounds are impressive.

Murderer number 1: Noore Alam is a fourth year university student, majoring in Political Science

Murderer number 2: Rafiqul Islam is a second year university student majoring in Islamic History

Murderer number 3: Mahfuzur Rahman is a final year Masters degree student in Bangla literature in the university

Murderer number 4: Obhidul Quader is a fourth year student of psychology

Murderer number 5: Emdadul Haque is a final year Masters degree student of philosophy

Murderer number 6: Rasheduzzaman Shaon is a fourth year student of history

Murderer number 7: Rintu is a fourth year student of English literature

Murderer number 8: Mohammad Uzzal is a fourth year student of social science

Philosophy, psychology, Bangla and English literature, political and social science and history - these subjects should have enlightened their mind, free their spirit to the realm of basic empathy, but instead they have hacked an innocent businessman Bishwajit Das, in broad daylight, in front of the shuttering cameras of numb media and ridiculously ineffective law enforcers watching only from yards away.

41 years ago in 1971, the known enemies from foreign land and their shameless collaborators killed countless innocent civilians, men, women, and children, murdered professors, students, doctors, engineers and civil servants. It was a brutal war, though in the end the innocence had triumphed over the oppression.

Bangladesh has come a long way since then. Many decades have passed, military dictators of by gone era are only the fading memories. But if one compares the blood soaked newspapers of today to a similar page from one, two or ten years ago, the brutality, the senseless violence, photos or words describing the thugs and murderers, the cries and agonies of aggrieved family emanating from newspapers' crispy pages, have not changed much. The players at the top, the ruling and the main oppositions swapped their positions, but their hired murderers' crass actions have remained the same.

The tragic part is that the powerful political elites have been exploiting college and university students to do their dirty deeds.

24 year old Bishwajit Das is dead and his body is already cremated by his family in a tearful funeral. Today was also International Human Rights Day. "This year the spotlight is on the rights of all people — women, youth, minorities, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, the poor and marginalized — to make their voices heard in public life and be included in political decision-making." Bishwajit Das was part of minority in Bangladesh. His very basic right, to live freely, was taken away from him by murdering thugs working under political elites (Awami League? BNP?). Will there be any justice served for his murderers or behind the scene orchestrators?